A report said that police forces and local authorities in England were not doing enough to protect children who ran away from home or care. The protection offered to children varied considerably, with some areas failing to keep children safe from harm.
Source: Make Runaways Safe: The local picture, Children s Society
Links: Report | Childrens Society press release | LGA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Dec
The police service inspectorate said that progress by the service in tackling corruption was 'inconsistent' and lacking in urgency.
Source: Revisiting Police Relationships: A progress report, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | HMIC press release | ACPO press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Dec
A think-tank report called for the police service to return to its core principles of crime prevention.
Source: Edward Boyd, Policing 2020: What kind of police service do we want in 2020?, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Policy Exchange press release | ACPO press release | Police Federation press release
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined the legal powers of police officers in England and Wales to take into account an offender's mental health problem when taking key decisions such as those relating to arrest and charging.
Source: Ian Cummins, 'Policing and mental illness in England and Wales post Bradley', Policing, Volume 6 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
The coalition government published a progress report on its programme for tackling gang and youth violence.
Source: Ending Gang and Youth Violence Report: One Year On, Cm 8493, Home Office, TSO
Date: 2012-Nov
An employers' organization said that the new Police and Crime Commissioners should hire private sector companies to help them meet budgetary demands, improve service efficiency, and free up police officers for frontline duties.
Source: A Force for the Future: Transforming policing through partnership, Confederation of British Industry
Links: Report | CBI press release
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined the procedural and cultural challenges that threatened the extent to which restorative justice might became embedded within the policing response to crime in England and Wales.
Source: Craig Paterson and Kerry Clamp, 'Exploring recent developments in restorative policing in England and Wales', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 12 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
An audit report said that Scotland's new single police force would inherit many positive features: but it could learn lessons from the existing system, particularly in relation to improving the scrutiny of police services.
Source: Best Value in Police Authorities and Police Forces in Scotland, Audit Scotland
Links: Report | Audit Scotland press release
Date: 2012-Nov
An article compared police performance management in Britain and France. It looked at the relationship between the rise of police performance management and the wider politicization of 'law and order' in both contexts. It then discussed the themes of 'centralization' and 'localism', the dimensions of policing that formed measurements of police performance, the role of 'transparency' and exposure of data in performance management, and the role of 'consumerism'.
Source: Jacques de Maillard and Stephen Savage, 'Comparing performance: the development of police performance management in France and Britain', Policing and Society, Volume 22 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
The coalition government announced a pilot project (in 9 areas) under which the police would be able to take a wider range of offences through the courts without consulting the Crown Prosecution Service. It estimated that the measure would increase the number of police-led prosecutions by more than 90,000 each year.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 23 October 2012, column 49WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | Home Office press release
Date: 2012-Oct
A think-tank report examined how gang crime and fear of gangs had changed since the riots in English cities in the summer of 2011. It criticized a lack of joined-up thinking in the approach taken by public authorities, and stressed the need to prevent young people joining gangs in the first place. The removal of more than 200 gang ring-leaders from London's streets had resulted in a vacuum in which younger gang members had grabbed power on a wave of violence.
Source: Time to Wake Up: Tackling gangs one year after the riots, Centre for Social Justice
Links: Report | BBC report | Daily Mail report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Oct
A think-tank report examined national and local initiatives designed to integrate criminal justice and emergency services. The benefits of such integration included significant reductions in crime, improved performance, and reduced costs of administration. The coalition government was right to identify police and crime commissioners as the best integrator of criminal justice services, and should devolve a wide range of services to them, effectively doubling their budgets.
Source: Andrew Haldenby, Tara Majumdar, and Will Tanner, Doing It Justice: Integrating criminal justice and emergency services through police and crime commissioners, Reform
Date: 2012-Oct
Researchers examined public perceptions of 'Trailblazer' initiatives designed to increase transparency in policing and criminal justice, through enhancing or building on the national police website. The findings suggested that information provision alone was unlikely to stimulate greater public engagement in police accountability, without wider activity to educate members of the public on how they might use the information to do this effectively.
Source: Kathryn Ray, Rosemary Davidson, Fatima Husain, Sandra Vegeris, and Kim Vowden (with Jacqui Karn), Perceptions of the Policing and Crime Mapping Trailblazers', Research Report 67, Home Office
Links: Report | Summary | PSI press release
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the findings of two surveys on contact between the public and the police conducted in England and Wales. It looked at the issue of 'asymmetry' in the relationship between satisfaction with police contacts and wider public confidence in the police. Personal treatment appeared to be valued over criminal justice outcomes, providing support for process-based policing models and suggesting that improving the way officers handled encounters might lead to enhanced trust and confidence.
Source: Andy Myhill and Ben Bradford, 'Can police enhance public confidence by improving quality of service? Results from two surveys in England and Wales', Policing and Society, Volume 22 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A report said that police forces should make the prevention, detection, and investigation of officers abusing their powers for sexual exploitation a higher priority.
Source: The Abuse of Police Powers to Perpetrate Sexual Violence, Independent Police Complaints Commission/Association of Chief Police Officers
Links: Report | IPCC press release | ACPO press release | Rape Crisis press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Sep
The police service inspectorate for England and Wales said that most police constables faced 'an array of barriers' in preventing crime, including:
• An absence of clarity around the mission for policing – all forces used different mission statements and these varied even across departments within a force.
• Weaknesses in operational and technological support to officers in the field – out of the 19 basic technology operating systems required for frontline roles away from police stations, only one was consistently available and was not always effective.
• Limitations in training – crime prevention was only one out of the 190 modules that constables received in their initial training.
Source: Taking Time for Crime: A study of how police officers prevent crime in the field, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | HMIC press release | ACPO press release | Police Federation press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2012-Sep
An inspectorate report in Northern Ireland said that it welcomed the progress made by the Police Service of Northern Ireland toward embedding the ethos of 'policing with the community' across the organization.
Source: Policing with the Community: A follow-up review of inspection recommendations, Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland
Links: Report | CJINI press release
Date: 2012-Sep
A new book examined public trust in the police service in England and Wales, police legitimacy, and people s readiness to cooperate with police officers.
Source: Jonathan Jackson, Ben Bradford, Betsy Stanko, and Katrin Hohl, Just Authority? Trust in the police in England and Wales, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Aug
A new book examined the effects of austerity on the police service of England and Wales. It also investigated the knock-on effect on other public agencies of a diminished police contribution to public well-being.
Source: Graham Ellison and Mike Brogden, Policing in an Age of Austerity: A postcolonial perspective, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined how police authority members approached their duties and responsibilities, and how the work of police authorities had affected participation by local citizens.
Source: Floyd Millen and Mike Stephens, 'Police authorities, accountability, and citizenship', Policing, Volume 6 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A new book examined the range of activities that could be defined as cyber threats. It showed how this activity formed in communities, and what could be done to try to prevent individuals from becoming cyber terrorists.
Source: Imran Awan and Brian Blakemore (eds), Policing Cyber Hate, Cyber Threats and Cyber Terrorism, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jul
An article described the origins of a programme of comparative research into cross-national variations in public trust in justice and in the police in Europe. It also outlined some of the early findings.
Source: Mike Hough, 'Researching trust in the police and trust in justice: a UK perspective', Policing and Society, Volume 22 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
The police service inspectorate said that police forces in England had thus far managed to cut their spending while largely maintaining the service that they provided to the public: but there were some concerns about how long this would last, as most forces needed to 'transform' their efficiency in preparation for future spending reviews.
Source: Policing in Austerity: One year on, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | HMIC press release | Home Office press release | ACPO press release | Labour Party press release | LGA press release | Police Federation press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jul
A report called for the wholesale review of the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme, under which private security guards and other individuals were given police powers. 80 per cent of the individuals concerned were not being monitored by police authorities – yet they possessed powers to issue on-the-spot fines for criminal offences, to confiscate alcohol, and to demand people's name and address.
Source: Should Private Security Guards Have Police Powers? Analysis of the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme, Manifesto Club
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jul
A new book examined the place of social crime prevention (aimed at addressing the root causes of crime) in European scientific discourse. It considered whether there was still a place for social crime prevention in prevention, safety, and security policies; what kind of social causes of crime were tackled in social crime prevention; and how professionals committed to social crime prevention reacted to recent changes affecting the welfare state.
Source: Patrick Hebberecht and Evelyne Baillergeau (eds.), Social Crime Prevention in Late Modern Europe: A comparative perspective, ASP
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jun
A watchdog paper examined how police forces in England were using stop-and-search powers. Some police forces stopped and searched a much higher proportion of black, Asian, and mixed-ethnicity people than others, and it was not always clear why this was so – leaving police officers exposed to discrimination claims.
Source: , Race Disproportionality in Stops and Searches Under S.60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Briefing Paper 5, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Paper | EHRC press release | ACPO press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined how confidence in policing changed over time. Contrary to cross-sectional findings, time-series analyses showed that confidence in the police was not related to aggregate worry about crime and perceptions of social cohesion, nor informal social control, but only to perceptions of crime and the property crime rate.
Source: Katy Sindall, Patrick Sturgis, and Will Jennings, 'Public confidence in the police: a time-series analysis', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 52 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A think-tank report said that letting the police deal with low-risk offenders quickly with a structured supervision plan linked to a deferred prosecution could reduce offending and allow police and the other agencies to focus more on preventing serious crime.
Source: Lawrence Sherman and Peter Neyroud, Offender-Desistance Policing and the Sword of Damocles, Civitas
Links: Civitas press release
Date: 2012-Jun
A new book examined the policing of consensual sexual practices. It considered a range of areas, including public sex, pornography, and sex work – and how sexual orientation structured police responses. It critically explored how policing was implicated in the social, moral, and political landscape of sex and – contrary to the established rhetoric of politicians and criminal justice practitioners – continued to intervene in the private lives of citizens.
Source: Paul Johnson and Derek Dalton (eds.), Policing Sex, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the drivers of public confidence in the police, using three surveys of the same community. Gender and age differences were found, with females and older participants exhibiting higher confidence in policing. Non-criminal aspects of policing such as improved community cohesion and visibility were found to aid confidence. Further, crime-related policing was found to influence overall satisfaction following an incident. Although confidence levels were positive overall, there was also evidence of the positive-negative asymmetry effect, where participants' confidence levels shifted following experience with the police. This provided further support for citizen-focused initiatives in which community focus and communication were at the centre of strategies for improving confidence in policing.
Source: Simon Merry, Nicola Power, Michelle McManus, and Laurence Alison, 'Drivers of public trust and confidence in police in the UK', International Journal of Police Science and Management, Volume 14 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
Researchers examined the perceived benefits of neighbourhood policing partnerships between neighbourhood policing teams, partner agencies, and residents.
Source: Caroline Turley, Helen Ranns, Meg Callanan, Alison Blackwell, and Tim Newburn, Delivering Neighbourhood Policing in Partnership, Research Report 61, Home Office
Links: Report
Date: 2012-May
A watchdog report said that police corruption in England and Wales was 'not endemic': but it made recommendations designed to improve public confidence, including a more effective national system for handling allegations against very senior officers.
Source: Corruption in the Police Service in England and Wales: Second report – A report based on the IPCC s experience from 2008 to 2011, Independent Police Complaints Commission, TSO
Links: Report | IPCC press release
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the trust of the police in citizens in Europe. It compared the level of generalized trust among police officers and other respondents. The analysis to some extent supported the assumption of cynicism among the police. However, the generalized trust of those working in the police forces closely reflected the level of generalized trust in the society as a whole. In countries where citizens generally trusted each other, the police also trusted the citizens: in countries with a low level of trust in general, the police were also cynical towards citizens.
Source: Juha Kaariainen, and Reino Siren, 'Do the police trust in citizens? European comparisons', European Journal of Criminology, Volume 9 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined leadership development since the inception of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in 2001. The PSNI had progressed significantly: but a new leadership development strategy was vital if operational policing were to continue to enhance public confidence at a time of renewed terrorist threat.
Source: Andrew McInnes and Tim Meaklim, 'Leading the Police Service of Northern Ireland – ten years and beyond', International Journal of Leadership in Public Services, Volume 8 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the police service of England and Wales. There was little evidence to suggest that the Act had promoted a greater awareness of, and respect for, human rights among police officers. Rather, the Act had become institutionalized by the police service into a series of bureaucratic processes that, although requiring conformity by officers, did not encourage active consideration of human rights issues. One result was that the Act was not used to achieve a balance between individual rights and community interests, but had become a framework for mandating police decision-making and protecting officers from criticism and blame.
Source: Karen Bullock and Paul Johnson, 'The impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on policing in England and Wales', British Journal of Criminology, Volume 52 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A report said that the relationship between the police and the public had been damaged by a 'target culture', combined with strict adherence to protocol, rank structure, and risk aversion. It recommended that there should be more institutional support for changing police culture – including integrating a package into police training regarding self-development, aimed at enabling police officers to take more control over their own thinking and behaviour.
Source: Jonathan Rowson and Emma Lindley, Reflexive Coppers: Adaptive challenges in policing, Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce
Links: Report | ACPO press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Apr
A new textbook examined police ethics and values. It discussed the range, importance, and complexity of ethical issues faced by law-enforcement practitioners and policy-makers; introduced the key concepts of ethics, professionalism, and policing; and related these to key themes within policing.
Source: Allyson MacVean and Peter Neyroud, Police Ethics and Values, Learning Matters
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
The police service inspectorate said that the majority of police forces in England and Wales were performing well in terms of the quality of crime and incident data, and some progress had been made since a previous report in 2009: but there remained wide variations in accuracy.
Source: The Crime Scene: A review of police crime and incident reports, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | HMIC press release | ACPO press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jan